When was the last big earthquake in the Los Angeles area?

Question

I realize there was a quake within the past month, but I'm interested in knowing when was the last time that there was one that did major damage?

Thanks

Answer 1

Northridge -- I remember it well.  It occurred at 4:31 am on a Monday morning, January 17, 1994.  My mother had just arrived for a two week visit from the East Coast, and she, at age 84, could not get out of bed.  Very shocking!  It was strong enough (6.7 on the Richter scale and long lasting) that I thought we would all die, and we were about 25 miles from the epicenter.

I was just 17 days into my presidency of the Los Angeles chapter of the American Institute of Architects, and I spent many days and weeks thereafter going around to clients to evaluate their buildings, check on our past projects, and reassure the public.  I was actually on TV repeatedly on behalf of the profession at the time.

Although it was very large, our codes had already been improved sufficiently that there was relatively low injury and loss of life for such a large quake.  The damage was placed at over $12.5 billion in 1994 dollars.  You can read more at the link I have given you below.

Answer 2

The Northridge Quake...in 1996 or a little earlier.